Joshua Rivera

Making excuses for ourselves can be a slippery slope. Buying something small that's outside of your budget or cheating on your diet can quickly get out of hand. However, Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project has a tip that'll help you keep things in perspective.

The one-coin problem asks if an almost negligible amount of progress—a single coin—can make you rich. It argues that it's all a matter of where you place your focus: that seeming small lapse or the growing heap that often isn't apparent until much later.

The one-coin problem captures a paradox that's familiar to all of us: when we consider our actions, often it's true that any one instance of an action is almost meaningless, yet at the same time, a sum of those actions is very meaningful. Whether we focus on the single coin, or the growing heap, will shape our behavior.

Whether you're dieting, implementing a fitness program, or trying to save money, it's common knowledge that little things add up. However, having something like the one-coin argument as a reference can be a great way to keep your goals in perspective when you start to fudge on them a bit.